At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

At this moment, Han Shixun rushed down the steps inside the city wall. A section of his robe was burned off by the fire, and there was a cut on his face from a piece of gravel. Blood and ash mixed together and flowed down the curve of his jaw.

He rushed to Qin Hao, panting, and said, "General Qin, the Eastern Barbarian warships are too powerful. Three crenellations on the city wall have already been blown down."

"The brothers have suffered heavy casualties and their morale is low."

Qin Hao took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and think of a solution.

Xu Cheng peeked out from behind the battlements, then retreated.

He gritted his teeth, looked at Qin Hao, and said, "Brother Qin, this can't go on."

"We're just hiding in this town and getting beaten, suffering casualties for nothing."

"Those Dongyi ships are out of range; our arrows can't reach them at all. We might as well just sail out and fight them!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Hao immediately stopped him.

"General Xu, you absolutely mustn't!"

"The brothers have never really fought at sea; once they're on the water, they're at the mercy of others."

"Moreover, the warships at Zhenhai Pass have been burned by the Dongyi people, and what remains are civilian fishing boats."

"Using those ships to ram the Eastern Barbarian warships is no different from sending them to their deaths."

Xu Cheng clenched his fists, his voice urgent: "Then what do we do? Just wait to get beaten up?"

"Have the brothers retreat from the city walls and find cover." Qin Hao took a deep breath, regaining some composure. "Once they think we've suffered heavy casualties, they'll storm Zhenhai Pass..."

"Then we'll lure them ashore and deal with them on land."

"The ground is where we truly belong."

After thinking for a moment, Xu Cheng also felt that this was the only way.

"Alright, then let's follow the plan of brothers."

Then, he sent Han Shixun to relay the order.

……

"Waaaaah..."

Just then, a loud horn sounded from the direction of the river channel inside Zhenhaiguan.

Short, continuous... deafening.

The soldiers on the city wall stopped what they were doing.

Qin Hao suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of the river, trying to find out where the bugle call came from.

Finally, he confirmed that the sound was coming from behind the bend in the water.

Moreover, it seemed as if something was coming from around the corner along the river, slowly revealing the face of Mount Lu between the water and the sunlight.

Xu Cheng had just reached the middle of the steps when he heard the horn sound stop. He turned around and looked towards the river.

Suddenly, a lookout standing on a high point inside the city wall leaned out and shouted to Qin Hao and Xu Cheng, "General, it's a warship! It's our Great Qian's warship!!"

The shouts spread along the inner side of the city wall.

Everyone looked toward the river from which the sound came.

At this moment, a huge warship appeared in their sight. The Great Qian Azure Dragon Flag hanging high at the bow made it clear to them that it was indeed a warship of the Great Qian.

Everyone was stunned when they saw that enormous thing.

After a moment of silence, cheers erupted like waves.

"Wow...what a huge warship."

"It's even more majestic and imposing than those Eastern barbarian warships."

"Yes, it's several times bigger."

Xu Cheng was overjoyed. He approached Qin Hao and excitedly said, "Brother Qin, is that the Youlong warship built by Elder Su?"

"It must be, otherwise where would the Great Qian Dynasty have such a large warship?"

"Old Su has finally arrived. We can go back and fight our way back."

When Qin Hao saw the warship, the shock he felt was palpable.

He had never seen such a large warship.

At this moment, Chu Tianba and the others on the Youlong warship were waving at Qin Hao and the others.

"Brothers, you've worked hard. We're here to help you."

Seeing Zhenhai Pass engulfed in flames, Su Mu felt immense anger and sneered, "These Eastern Barbarian bandits are truly ruthless; they've burned Zhenhai Pass down again."

"Pass down the order: advance at full speed, sail out of Zhenhai Pass, and destroy the Dongyi warships."

"Let them see the power of our Great Qian Dragon Warship."

Chu Tianba and his men, eager to fight, raised their arms and shouted, "Charge out! Charge out!"

Qin Hao saw the Youlong warship accelerating and knew what Su Mu was thinking.

He smiled and said, "Elder Su, this humble general understands your intention."

After saying that, he walked quickly down the steps to the valve control position on the inner side of the city wall leading to the river, and directed the soldiers to turn the winch.

"Quickly open the valve..."

With the soldiers working together, the heavy valve was slowly lifted upwards by the pull of ropes and wooden shafts.

Seeing the huge valve open, Xiao Jingyu looked at Su Mu and smiled, "General Qin truly lives up to his reputation as a capable general who followed Elder Su on the Northern Expedition to the East. You haven't even given the order yet, and he already knows Elder Su's thoughts."

Su Mu smiled slightly and said, "He understands me."

He then issued the order.

"Order all warships to follow the Dragon-type warship and launch an attack."

Wang Ben stood below the mainsail, clutching a signal flag in his hand.

He waved the flag to signal the helmsman, the mainsail ropes were loosened, the sail was adjusted at an angle, and as the sail tightened again, the ship's direction was slowly turning from the river's axis to the sea.

The sailor in the front row, responsible for lookout, also adjusted the flag in his hand...

Soon, the ship completely left the river channel, passed the valve, and entered the open sea.

……

"What is that?"

"Warships, the warships of the Great Qian Dynasty have arrived."

On the deck of the Dongyi navy, the laughter was slowly subsiding.

A sailor standing at the bow was the first to see the massive warship and the Great Qianlong Azure Dragon Flag flying high.

"Is it really a warship?"

"How is this possible? How could the Great Qian Dynasty possess such enormous warships?"

"Several times larger than our warships."

Exclamations of amazement rose and fell, echoing across the Dongyi warships.

"General, look..."

Murakami Heiji, who had been keeping a close eye on the inferno at Zhenhai Pass, was distracted by a single sentence from his lieutenant.

Soon, his gaze also fell on the ship.

Immediately, Murakami Heiji and his companion both gasped, the chill rushing from their feet to their heads, causing them to tremble uncontrollably.

It even gave me a fright.

"It really is a warship? How could it be?" Murakami Heiji's surprise lingered for a long time.

"General...General, what should we do?" The adjutant beside him panicked when he saw the behemoth. He kept shouting at Murakami Heiji, trying to get clear instructions.

Murakami Heiji was awakened by the shout. He shook his head violently and then came to his senses.

He took a deep breath and calmed down.

He turned around and addressed his troops, saying, "Pass on my order: change course and attack the Daqian warships."

"attack!"

On the other side, Wang Ben smiled smugly, feeling extremely excited.

At this moment, the value of his shipbuilding skills can finally be demonstrated.

He asked, "Elder Su, shall we launch the attack?"

Su Mu knew everyone was already incredibly eager, a smile playing on his lips as he gave the order.

"Attack immediately!"

"Beat him to death!"